Methods and apparatus for packaging



J. c. AMATO 3,110,995

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING Filed April 3. 1961 Q. E U (D V N g f (D u.

u gr 9 K d S U s L INVENTOR.

JUSTIN C. AMATO BUG/(HORN, BLORE; KLAROU/5T8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3 116,995 METHODS AN D APPARATUS FUR PACKAGlNG Justin C. Amato, 3218 Llano Ave, San Mateo, Calif. Filed Apr. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 100,446 6 Claims. (Cl. 53-180) My invention relates to improvements in packaging machines and more particularly comprises apparatus for transporting or pushing a commodity into a tubular or equivalent elliptical or rectangular container.

Packaging machines of the type shown in the patent to Zwoyer, No. 1,986,422, are now being manufactured by many firms. They are vertical or near-vertical machines, commonly described as form-fill-seal machines, which form tubular containers from webs of various flexible materials, fill them with pro-measured portions of the commodity being packaged, and seal off the portions in sections of the tubular container. In these machines, the pre-measured portion of a commodity is simply dumped or spilled into the open end of the forming tube. The machines depend mainly on gravity to carry the commodity into the package. Some commodities, potato chips for example, are difficult to package in this type of machine and often require the use of auxiliary devices such as air jets, agitators and plungers to prevent choking of the forming tube.

It is an object of my invention to provide a positive method and apparatus for transporting or pushing a commodity, such as potato chips for example, through the forming tube of the form-fill-seal type of packaging machine.

The development of horizontal versions of the formiill-seal machine has been delayed largely because of the problems encountered in transporting the commodity being packaged through the forming tube a distance of more than twice the length of the desired finished package. -It is another object of my invention to provide a method and apparatus for transporting or pushing a commod-ity, such as potato chips for example, through the forming tube of horizontal versions of the form-fillseal machine.

Further, the motion of transporting or pushing the commodity through the forming tube of the form-fill-seal machine must be accomplished in less than one second in order to utilize the speed of the form-fill-seal type of packaging machine and to achieve speeds, that is in number of packages per minute, considered to be economically necessary in the packaging of such commodities as potato chips. Accordingly, it is another object of my invention to provide apparatus for transporting or pushing a commodity, such as potato chips for example, through the forming tube of horizontal versions of the form-fill-seal machine, a distance of more than twice the length of the desired package, with minimal damage to the commodity and at rates of speed commensurate with present speeds of single-tube, vertical form-fill-seal machines.

It is another object of my invention when in use with a horizontal version of the form-fill-seal type of packaging machine to provide apparatus for preparing the premeasured portion or" a commodity, such as potato chips for example, causing the portion to settle into a compact mass, similar in length and cross-section to the desired finished package, before being pushed into the packageforming tube.

in the foregoing and throughout the specification reference is made repeatedly to potato chips and to horizontal Versions of the form fill-seal type of packaging machine. My invention will find its widest application in the packaging of potato chips on such machines. It will be understood, however, that the apparatus is applicable to the packaging of other commodities, par- "ice ticularly to those which combine light weight with relatively great bulk.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view in perspective showing the complete apparatus in horizontal operation.

FIGURE 2 is a detail in partial section and partial elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the racks and gears which produce the reciprocating contra-rotation of the plunger reels.

A grooved, cylindrical cam 1 rotates and moves cam follower 3 in cam groove 2. Thus a reciprocating linear motion equal to the rise of the cam groove 2 is imparted to carriage 4 along shafts 5 and 5a. Sections of gear rack 6 and 6a are attached to carriage 4. Gears 7 and 7a, mounted on shafts 9 and 9a in common with gears 8 and 8a, are in mesh with racks 6 and 6a and, accordingly, are reciprocally contra-rotated simultaneously and coextens-ively by the reciprocating linear motion of carriage 1. Gears 8 and 8a are in mesh with gears 10 and 10a which are mounted in common with reels 11 and Lla on shaft 12 and 12a having parallel axes. Plungers 1 3 and 13a, made of blue-tempered clockspring or equivalent material, are wound on reels 11 and 11a and are fitted within rims 1'4 and Ma as seen in FIGURE 2.. Ball bearing rollers 15 are closely spaced on the peripheries of reels 1 1 and 11a and keep the spring steel plungers 13 and 13a tightly wound on the reels. Additional rollers 15a and 15b help establish accurate direction to the thrust of plungers 13 and 13a along a linear path at right angles to the plane of the axes of the reels. The two lengths of spring steel mutually support each other so as to form a plunger sufliciently rigid to operate said piston.

A piston 16 is attached to the ends of plungers 13 and 13a. The piston 16 may be fabricated of various materials according to the requirements of the commodity to be packaged. For example, in the case of potato chips, nylon might be used in .03125 thickness with a small area in the center stiffened with a washer of 24 gauge stainless steel. The settling chamber 17 is simply a tube of the same cross-section as the forming tube 18. It has a cutout opening fitted with doors 19 and 19a, which open to receive a pre-measured portion of the commodity being packaged and these close just before piston 16 pushes the portion into forming tube '18.

Forming tube .18 is only partly shown. It can be any of a number of such devices based on the original patent to Zwoyer, No. 1,986,422, previously referred to.

In FIGURE 2 parts numbered 20, 21 and 22 are components of a housing for the gears and reels and indicate the manner of assembling the gears and reels on their shafts. Shafts 9 and 9a and 12 and 12a would be equipped with bearings suitable for thrust or rotaiy loads according to the horizontal or vertical design of the packaging machine With which the invention is to be used.

For illustration we may assume the rise of cam groove 2 to be two and one-half inches. The reciprocating travel of the carriage 4 is then also two and one-half inches. Assuming gears 7 and 7a to be two inches in pitch diameter, gears 8 and 8a five inches in pitch diameter, gears 10 and 10a two inches in pitch diameter and reels l1 and 11a fourteen inches in diameter, then the thrust or stroke of plungers 13 and 113a would be forty-four inches. Thrust may be varied by substituting cams of different rise, by substituting gears, by substituting reels, or by various combinations of these components.

To assist the settling for the commodity in settling chamber 17 a commercial bin vibrator would be employed and the settling chamber .17 would be mounted on stiff springs or on rubber cushions.

I claim:

1. A device comprising two reels, means for contrarotating said reels, two lengths of thin, fiat spring steel wound upon said reels and extending therefrom in the same direction, the tips of said lengths of spring steel being joined together, means guiding said strips of spring steel so that the tips thereof reciprocate substantially along a tangent to both reels as said reels are contrarotated, a piston afiixed to the tips of said two lengths of spring steel, and a hopper in which material may be deposited so as to bep ushed in one direction upon recip-.

each of said reels having a length of thin, flat spring steel wound thereon, said lengths of spring steel being wound in opposite directions and having their free ends projecting from between the reels in the same direction and joined together at their tips, a piston fixed to the free ends of said (lengths of spring steel, means reciprocally to contra-rotate said reels simultaneously and coextensively,

and means to guide said free ends along a linear path at right angles to the plane of said axes, said two lengths of spring steel mutually supporting each other so as to form a plunger sufficiently rigid to operate said piston.

4. A packaging machine comprising a pair of reels mounted side by side for rotation about parallel axes, each of said reels having a length of thin, flat spring steel wound thereon, said lengths of spring steel being wound in opposite directions and having their free ends projecting from between the reels in the same direction and joined together at their tips, a piston fixed to the free ends of said lengths of spring steel, means reciprocally to contr-a-rotate said reels simultaneously and coextensively,

4.- a means to guide said free ends along a linear path at right angles to the plane of said axes, said two lengths of spring steel mutually supporting each other so as to form a plunger sufficiently rigid to operate said piston, and a settling chamber for packaging commodities in which said piston reciprocates.

5. In a packaging machine, a tubular hopper extending horizontally, a plunger movable along said hopper to move material along said hopper, reel means, normally straight spring strip means having an end attached to the plunger for moving the plunger and wound on said reel means, and means for alternately driving said reel means in a winding direction and an unwinding direction to reciprocate said plunger relative to said hopper. 6. In a packaging machine, 7 a tubular hopper extending horizontally and having a charging opening at the top thereof, closure means adapted to open said opening for receiving material and to close said opening, a plunger movable along said hopper to move material along said hopper, reel means, normally'straight spring strip means having an end attached to the plunger for moving the plunger and wound on said reel means, and means for alternately driving said reel means in a winding direction and an unwinding direction to reciprocate said plunger relative to said hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 528,751 Weinmanet a1. "Nov. 6, 1894 2,555,758 Noble et al. June 5, 1951 2,663,476 Goldberg et a1. Dec.t22, 1953 

1. A DEVICE FOR COMPRISING TWO REELS, MEANS FOR CONTRAROTATING SAID REELS, TWO LENGTHS OF THIN, FLAT SPRING STEEL WOUND UPON SAID REELS AND EXTENDING THEREFROM IN THE SAME DIRECTION, THE TIPS OF SAID LENGTHS OF SPRING STEEL BEING JOINED TOGETHER, MEANS GUIDING SAID STRIPS OF SPRING STEEL SO THAT THE TIPS THEREOF RECIPROCATE SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG A TANGENT TO BOTH REELS AS SAID REELS ARE CONTRAROTATED, A PISTON AFFIXED TO THE TIPS OF SAID TWO LENGTHS OF SPRING STEEL, AND A HOPPER IN WHICH MATERIAL MAY BE DEPOSITED SO AS TO BE PUSHED IN ONE DIRECTION UPON RECIPROCATION OF SAID PISTON, SAID TWO LENGTHS OF SPRING STEEL MUTUALLY SUPPORTING EACH OTHER SO AS TO FORM A STRUCTURE SUFFICIENTLY RIGID TO OPERATE SAID PISTON.
 2. A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED TUBE-FORMING MECHANISM IN COMBINATION WITH THE STRUCTURE SET FORTH IN CLAIM 1, SAID MECHANISM BEING ALIGNED WITH SAID HOPPER AND RECEIVING MATERIAL THEREFROM TO BE DEPOSITED IN A TUBE FORMED THEREON. 